etymology

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etymology

study of the history of words

Not to be confused with:

entomology – scientific study of insects

et·y·mol·o·gy

(ĕt′ə-mŏl′ə-jē)

n. pl. et·y·mol·o·gies

1. The origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible.

2. The branch of linguistics that deals with etymologies.

[Middle English etimologie, from Old French ethimologie, from Medieval Latin ethimologia, from Latin etymologia, from Greek etumologiā : etumon, true sense of a word; see etymon + -logiā, -logy.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

etymology

(ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒɪ)

n, pl -gies

1. (Linguistics) the study of the sources and development of words and morphemes

2. (Linguistics) an account of the source and development of a word or morpheme

[C14: via Latin from Greek etumologia; see etymon, -logy]

etymological adj

ˌetymoˈlogically adv

ˌetyˈmologist n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

et•y•mol•o•gy

(ˌɛt əˈmɒl ə dʒi)

n., pl. -gies.

1. the history of a particular word or element of a word.

2. an account of the origin and development of a word or word element.

3. the study of historical linguistic change, esp. as manifested in individual words.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin etymologia < Greek etymología; see etymon, -logy]

et`y•mo•log′i•cal (-məˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl) adj.

et`y•mo•log′i•cal•ly, adv.

et`y•mol′o•gist, n.

etymology

the branch of linguistics that studies the origin and history of words. — etymologist, n. — etymologie, etymological, adj.

etymology

1. The study of the origins and development of words.

2. The study of the history of words, tracing them back to their earliest recorded forms.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	etymology - a history of a word account, chronicle, history, story - a record or narrative description of past events; "a history of France"; "he gave an inaccurate account of the plot to kill the president"; "the story of exposure to lead" folk etymology - a popular but erroneous etymology
	2.	etymology - the study of the sources and development of words linguistics - the scientific study of language lexicostatistics - a statistical technique used in glottochronology; used to estimate how long ago different languages evolved from a common source language

etymology

noun derivation, word history, development of words, history of words, origin of words The etymology of the word 'neon' is the Greek for 'new'.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

etimologia

etymologie

etymologi

Etymologie Herkunft

ετυμολογία

etimología

etümoloogia

etymologia

étymologie

etimologija

etimológiaszófejtés

orðsifjafræðiorðsifjar

etimologia etimologico

語源語源学

etymologie

etymologi

etymologiaźródłosłów

etimologia

etimologie

этимология

etimologija

etymologi

etymology

[ˌetɪˈmɒlədʒɪ] N → etimología f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

etymology

[ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi] n [word] → étymologie f

etymology

n → Etymologie f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

etymology

[ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒɪ] n → etimologia

References in periodicals archive ?

By etymology, the word origin, the word economy is derived from the two Latin words the Eco- the house and the Nomos-the law or the rule, so the rule or law to run a house is called the economy sadly no such 'house laws' has been made in real sense nor implemented forcefully since 1947.

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Oriden a play on the English word origin and the Japanese word denki (..) meaning electricity' is the start of a new type of power generation organization.

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The word origin for 'inspiration' in Latin comes from 'inspirare' which literally means 'to blow into, breathe upon'.

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Translating Amy Clampitt into Italian

More than just a word origin guide, it expands each entry to include stories and facts behind each name, adding describers and authors of the original descriptions alongside names that appear to be eponyms.

Sharks: An Eponym Dictionary

Main Entry: biol * ogy Word Origin: early 19th cent.: coined in German, via French from Greek bios 'life' + -logy.

Linguistic features of English and Russian dictionaries (a comparative study)/Lingvistines zodynu ypatybes: lyginamasis tyrimas

The next chapter explores word origins, with a note on the difference between etymology and word origin.

Johnson, Dale D. and Bonnie Johnson. Words: The Foundation of Literacy

"They'll see a definition, word origin, synonyms, and narrower terms of its use that help deepen their understanding." (iPad, ipod, iPod Touch; $1.99 download)

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It is interesting to look at the word origin of pneumotachography.

The fascinating history of pneumotachography

So I tried other searches: "definition: search engine" and "word origin: search engine." I got some information about search engines, but again not quite what I was looking for.

Searching for search engine metaphors

He even traces the word origin of slum, along with the typology, geology, and economic forces at work.